The Los Angeles Times from Los Angeles, California • Page 59

LOS ANGELES TIMES TUESDAY, APRIL 25. 1995 B3 Today's Agenda mm Agoura CanogaPark Granada Hills Northridge Agoura Hills Chatsworth Hidden Hills -Reseda Calabasas Encino North Hills Tarzana West Hills Westlake Village Woodland Hills THINGS TO DO APRIL 21 Seniors' Mental Health A free lecture titled "Mental Health and Aging: An Overview" will be given from noon to 1:30 p.m. at Encino-Tar-zana Regional Medical Center's SAGE Clinic, 16237 Ventura Encino. Information: (800) 779-6636. neither Cal State nor foundation officials could say how many CSU teachers have received in the past.

However, CSUN spokesman Bruce Erickson said the Northridge campus has had several prior winners. By combining the fellowship with a six-month campus sabbatical and another fellowship she received from a different group, Soffer said she plans to spend from October to January lecturing in Australia on her topic, before returning home to finish the research and writing on her book. The book will focus on how different types of historians bring different perspectives to their craft, Soffer said. She plans to use the examples of three observers of English history in recent decades to portray the varying approaches of insiders, outsiders and those claiming impartiality. The foundation has been awarding the research fellowships since 1925 to advanced professionals with track records of scholarship.

The application by Soffer, the author of two prior books and recipient of a Cal State outstanding teacher award in 1984-85, was chosen from 2,856 that were received. -JOHN CHANDLER Reba Soffer, a 35-year campus veteran who specializes in modern English history, has been awarded a prestigious Guggenheim Fellowship and is the only teacher in the 21 -campus Cal State system to receive one this year. Soffer, 60, of Pacific Palisades, said the $28,000 grant from the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation will help underwrite her work away from CSUN during 1995-96. She will be researching and writing a book on the role of historians that she plans to title, "The Historical Imagination." Soffer said time spent off campus doing research and writing is essential if professors want to do quality teaching. "I think they're integrated and deeply related," she said.

"When you don't write, you don't think things through clearly." Her fellowship is one of 152 the New York-based foundation awarded this month to scholars and artists in the United States and Canada. Among the 25 given in California, six each went to scholars at Stanford and UC Berkeley, followed by four at UCLA and two at UC San Diego. No other Cal State instructors were granted the fellowships this year. And part of the environmental impact review for the Calabasas campus expansion plans. The university, Ourvan said, is trying to prevent a situation in which the Regional Planning Commission rules that the two projects don't have to be included in the same review, only to have the supervisors reverse the decision.

We want the county to take a formal position before we start a hearing," he said. Soka has been embroiled in a battle for the last four years to expand its 300-stu-dent campus in Calabasas to accommodate 3,400 students. Many Calabasas residents oppose the plan, as does the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy. Soka, meanwhile, has obtained permission from the Orange County Planning Commission to build a liberal arts college in Aliso Viejo. That project reportedly has met with little opposition.

-FRANK MANNING NORTHRIDGE Professor Wins Guggenheim Grant Cal State Northridge history professor CALABASAS Hearing Delayed on SSoka Expansion Plan The Los Angeles County Regional Planning Commission has postponed Wednesday's public hearing on an environmental report for Soka University's proposed expansion. The hearing, which was to have been JjM, Calabasas High School, was postponed indefinitely at Soka's request. Calabasas Mayor Dennis Washburn ncharged that Soka is stalling to learn IJftiore about the strategy of opponents of the expansion plan. Washburn added Soka sent representatives to a 'Special City Council meeting last week I that was held to prepare the city for the "Wednesday hearing. Soka spokesman Jeff Ourvan denied Soka is stalling.

"That's ridiculous. Jt has very little to do with the Calabasas City Council." Soka wanted to wait, Ourvan said, the Orange County Board of Supervisors rules on whether a planned Soka facility in that county should be 1 fir i jLxil -iam, I rmv ii Legal Advice The Valley Senior Service and Resource Center will host Ask a Lawyer Day from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at 18255 Victory Reseda. The free program is sponsored by the San Fernando Valley Bar Assn.

Lawyer Referral and Information Service. Information: (818)705-2345. Neighborhood Security A Los Angeles Police Department Devonshire Division Neighborhood Watch meeting will be held at 7:30 p.m. at Gledhill Street Elementary School, 16030 Gledhill North Hills. Capt Steve Ruda from the Los Angeles Fire Department and Devonshire area burglary detectives will be guest speakers.

Admission is free. Information: (818) 363-1726. Doctors and Patients Dr. Gershon Lesser cardiologist, attorney and author will speak on "In Every Doctor There Is a Patient and In Every Patient There Is a Doctor" at 7:30 p.m. at Kol Tikvah, 20400 Ventura Woodland Hills.

Admission is free. Information: (818) 348-0670. United We Stand Program The Glendale chapter of United We Stand, America will feature a program on tax reform at 7 p.m. at the Glendale Adult Recreation Center, 201 E. Colorado Blvd.

Admission is free. Information: (818) 500-1374. Stopping Smoking A four-session smoking cessation program will begin tonight at Community Medical Group of the West Valley, 7320 Woodlake Suite 190, West Hills. Classes will be held from 6:30 to 8 p.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays.

Cost is $25 per person. Reservations: (818) 706-2211, Ext. 250 or 236. Estate Planning A seminar titled "What You Need to Know About Estate Planning" will be given from 7 to 8 p.m. at Calabasas City Hall, 26135 W.

Mureau Road. Cost is $18 per person or $25 per couple. Registration: (818) 878-4225. Library Benefit The Friends of the Burbank Public Library will launch a five-day spring book sale at the library, 110 N. Glen-oaks Blvd.

Sale hours are 10 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. today, Wednesday and Thursday, 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Friday and 10 a.m.

to 3 p.m. Saturday. Information: (818) 953-9737. Eating Disorders A free support group for men and women with eating disorders will meet from 4:30 to 6 p.m. at the Pierce College WoMen's Resource Center, 6201 Winnetka Woodland Hills.

Information: (818) 719-6437. 1 The Chatsworth Chamber of Commerce will sponsor a Secretaries Day luncheon at 11:45 a.m. Wednesday at L.A. Gourmet restaurant, 21830 Nord-hoff St. Cost is $15 with reservations.

Information: (818) 341-2428. A free budgeting and money management workshop is planned from noon to 1:30 p.m. Wednesday at Mission College, 13356 Eldridge Campus Center Room 6, Sylmar. Information: (818) 364-7674. The Sherman Oaks Garden Club will have an English high tea fund-raiser at 12:30 p.m.

Wednesday at the Sepulveda Garden Center, 16633 Magnolia Encino. A $10 donation is asked per person. Reservations: (818) 892-2252. A free discussion on "Women, Power and Money" will be held from 1 to 3 p.m. Wednesday at Pierce College, 6201 Winnetka Woodland Hills.

Information: (818) 719-6437. Todais Agenda, compiled by Times editorial researcher Stephanie Stassel, is a listing of daily events in the San Fernando Valley. All items for consideration are welcomed and should be received at least a week before the scheduled event. Please address items to Today's Agenda, Los Angeles Times, 20000 Prairie Chatsworth 91311. Items can also be faxed to The Times at (818) 772-3338.

More Community News Did you miss a story about your community in recent weeks or want to learn more about where you live? A collection of the most recent stories about your community and neighborhood profiles and services can be found on the Timeslink on-line service. Sign on and "jump" to keyword "Your Town" or "State and Local." Details on Times electronic services, B4 BURBANK New Metrolink Stop Opens Near Airport Irene Cardenas is so accustomed to taking the Metrolink train to work each morning that it hardly fazed her when became the inaugural passenger to depart from Burbank's newest Metro-link stop at 6 a.m. Monday. was very convenient, just as it always is," said the 59-year-old nurse, 'who normally catches the train in Van tNuys. She had stopped in Burbank on Monday to drop off a rental car.

But ironically, transportation officials said the new station, on Empire Avenue next to the Burbank Airport, isn't intended for passengers like Cardenas. "The purpose of this station is to "provide an alternative for people who work Downtown and need to catch a flight, or people in Ventura County who need a convenient way to get to the 'airport," said Peter Hidalgo, a Metrolink "Our research has shown that not many people would use that station to "get to Downtown Los Angeles or to 'Oxnard, so it's really a destination station rather than a commuter station." Under a six-month trial program that began Monday, Metrolink's Ventura County line, which stretches from Los Angeles to Oxnard, will make 18 stops a 'day at the station, which is actually an Amtrak depot that has served the airport for more than a year. After the trial period, Metrolink officials will evaluate whether enough pas- sengers are using the facility to warrant continuing the service. It is the first time Metrolink, a commuter train service initiated in 1992, has served a regional airport, officials said. Amtrak will continue using the station as a stop on its San Diego and Santa Barbara lines.

The station is about a block's walk from the airport's main terminal, but is also a courtesy phone so that passengers with large amounts of luggage can call the airport's shuttle ser- vice. Modifications to the station include the platform to enable Metrolink trains to stop there and the installation of automated ticket machines, Hidalgo said. Officials with the airport and the city of Burbank had asked Metrolink to stopping at the airport ever since the Amtrak station was opened there. TThey said the request was unrelated to a proposed expansion of the airport. -STEVE RYFLE GLENDALE Train Wrecks Truck Parked on Tracks An Amtrak train slammed into an "18-wheel diesel truck parked on a rail crossing Monday morning, throwing the wrecked vehicle from the tracks while the driver looked on, police said.

The driver had gotten out of the truck 'at the Doran Street railroad crossing in XJlendale at about 10 a.m. to argue with a transient who was blocking the road with a shopping cart, said police spokesman Chahe Keuroghelian. 4 The driver hadn't noticed the train, which hit the truck's cab at 79 m.p.h., If- 1 "-v" J- -i ir -f 1 Photos by BORIS YARO Los Angeles Times Burbank Metrolink employee Milton Porter, above, waits for the first Metrolink train to arrive at the newly opened stop. Porter, at left, accompanies Irene Cardenas, the inaugural passenger, to her waiting train. eventually reach a consensus on what kind of new terminal should be built.

"It's good governance, it's cost-effective. and it helps remove the distrust and resentment we know is out there in the community," said Commissioner William Paparian of Pasadena. In the past 16 years, the Airport Authority has held only 17 meetings at night. The board's first and only televised session was held in January to allow the public to voice concerns about airport expansion. On Monday, commissioners agreed to begin meetings on Wednesday or Thursday nights as soon as possible, but probably not before mid-May, said airport spokesman Victor Gill.

Burbank Mayor Bill Wiggins said he was pleased with the developments. "I commend the Airport Authority wholeheartedly for taking this step, for offering an olive branch to the citizens of Burbank," Wiggins said. -VIVIEN LOU CHEN separating it from two rear trailers and throwing it 40 feet from the tracks. The truck was carrying 40 tons of gravel. "This could have been a major disaster," Keuroghelian said.

"If the train had struck one of those compartments carrying the gravel, most likely we would have had a train derailment" No one was injured, and after a brief stop, the train continued on its route to Union Station in Los Angeles, officials said. The train sustained only superficial damage. The truck driver, who was not identified, was not charged in the incident. But police are seeking the transient on suspicion of assault for allegedly throwing a rock at the driver during the argument, hitting him in the left eyebrow and causing a minor injury. Police said the transient, a Latino in his mid-20s to early 30s known as "Grigorio," frequents the area near the train tracks in Glendale.

-STEVE RYFLE BURBANK Airport Panel OKs Night Meetings Citing the need to improve its public image, the board of commissioners overseeing Burbank Airport has agreed to televise its meetings and to convene at night instead of Monday mornings. The changes were approved unanimously Monday by the Burbank-Glen-dale-Pasadena Airport Authority, which was forced to scrap its plans for acquiring land to build a new, larger terminal because of opposition from the Burbank City Council. By holding future meetings at night and videotaping them for broadcast later in each of the three cities, one airport commissioner said he hopes to give the public greater input into the authority's decision-making process and.